No Firewire on New iPods

[arondale]

Gone are the days you could use your iPod as a secondary storage device that was convienant to carry around to another's computer.

I know that I have used mine on several occasions to take my Pro Tools audio developments to another studio to work on a track.... for Flash developments for that matter.

Gone are the days misfits could walk into CompUSA and steal all the apps of another mac. (not a bad externality)

Gone are the days I could save countless minutes by saving projects I work on at home to bring to work (and vice versa)... without having to wait around to burn a CD.

I miss firewire...which brings me to my prediction that others have made long ago: Be on the lookout for another ultra-portable device from apple with built in firewire and more functionality...but not better portability. I'm on the lookout for those (old) 20GIGs to go on sale!

Arondale

[NETROMac]

WTF do you mean by no FireWire??? It has FW!!!

[arondale]

Originally posted by NETROMac
WTF do you mean by no FireWire??? It has FW!!!

Dude...if you see a firewire port on this thing....please tell me where it is!

http://www.arondale.com/images/ipodports.jpg

If image does not show, view it here: http://www.apple.com/ipod/specs.html

True, the DOCKING station for the new iPod connects via firewire. All my friends and studios I've gone to have no trouble providing a firewire cable. They do not, however, have new iPod docking stations lying around. I'm not about to start lugging around the docking station everythere I go. Sometimes I keep an extra firewire cable in my car, but I'm not going to add a docking station to that collection.

[murbot]

Beyond Music (http://www.apple.com/ipod/beyondmusic.html)

Snippet:

Convenient Data Storage
iPod can double as a FireWire or USB 2.0* hard drive for your computer. This allows you to transfer files and applications from your computer to the iPod and take them with you wherever you go. iPod is smart enough to keep your data files separate from your music collection so that they will not be accidentally erased when you are updating your music.

The new cable has a regular FW connector on one end (goes into Mac) and the new style connector on the other. This goes either into your base for use while at the office, or goes directly into the iPod when you're away from it. You do not have to take the base with you. The new cable functions exactly as the old one did.

[NETROMac]

You don't need to bring your dock, only the cable.

http://home.online.no/~mortehof/ipodcable.jpg

[edit: or read murbots post for details ;) ]

[murbot]

This also belongs in Digital Hub. Moving now.

:)

[ast3r3x]

i dont like that th iPods loose 2hrs of battery life but man they do look sexy and sleek


and i like the new connections, sleeker, les of a giant fat open port

[arondale]

I suppose I could buy an extra cable. I hate new ports!

[piot]

I love it when all you guys start popping up with your ill-informed rants.

Even more so when you keep the rant going after someone has pointed out that you are wrong!

I am not going to find the information you need for you....but suggest you start be looking at (and actually reading!) apple.com (http://www.apple.com/ipod/)

Piot

[arondale]

Originally posted by piot
I love it when all you guys start popping up with your ill-informed rants.

Even more so when you keep the rant going after someone has pointed out that you are wrong!

I am not going to find the information you need for you....but suggest you start be looking at (and actually reading!) apple.com (http://www.apple.com/ipod/)

Piot

Why don't I get more specific to satisfy "your" rant reply to my post: There is no "traditional" firewaire port on the new iPod. Good enough for you?

[ast3r3x]

Originally posted by arondale
Why don't I get more specific to satisfy "your" rant reply to my post: There is no "traditional" firewaire port on the new iPod. Good enough for you?

what does it matter?

the iPod uses that new cord, u dont need a special port on ur computer

the old iPods still work fine

[arondale]

I don't like carrying around more than I have to. I'd rather have the iPod in my pocket and my earphones. Having to buy an extra cable for file swapping is more trouble. Especially since not everyone has a "special" firewire cable and that it is unlikely I'll carry one around everywhere I take my ipod.

[tonton]

Originally posted by ast3r3x
i dont like that th iPods loose 2hrs of battery life but man they do look sexy and sleek


and i like the new connections, sleeker, les of a giant fat open port

ast3r3x, it's "lose", pronounced "luze". The iPods lose 2 hrs of battery life.

"Loose", pronounced "luce" is when something is not tight. The remote control connector on old iPods is very loose.

[murbot]

i ges he thinks its kewl 2 tipe lik tht. he duz it on perpus

:D

[Escher]

Originally posted by tonton
"Loose", pronounced "luce" is when something is not tight. The remote control connector on old iPods is very loose.

You mean like J.Lo. in your (old) sig, tonton? :D

In any case, I agree with ast3r3x. We don't need another proprietary connector from Apple. I think that the regular 6-pin FireWire port in the original iPods was a stroke of pure Apple genius. The new connector will only bring bad karma.

It's funny how Apple preaches open standards and open source on the software side, but on the hardware side had to introduce a new non-standard connector that doesn't add any functionality. ADC was one (arguably good) thing: it replaced three cables (power, video, USB) with a single one. In this case, however, Apple has replaced one (standard) cable with another (non-standard) one. That's bogus!

Escher

[dfiler]

I have an idea... why don't manufacturers put custom plugs on everything.

That way, we get to carry around a different cord for every device that we own.
;)

But seriously, I'm considering picking up an old iPod before they disappear. Having to carry around a special cord is incredibly inconvenient for a portable device. Forget the cord and you're screwed, you can't just temporarily grab a cord off the closest firewire device.

[Not Unlike Myself]

These gripes seem kinda petty to me...

Now we are all too good to carry a bloody cable? Um.. newflash, you DO carry your AC adapter for your laptop right? Why do you do that when it has a nice battery right there? BECAUSE, you could need it. Same dealie.

You carry the cable because it goes WITH the iPod. :rolleyes:

Or do you think Apple is just out to get you personally. Again. :lol: :rolleyes:

[Leonard]

Originally posted by arondale
Having to buy an extra cable for file swapping is more trouble.

You don't have to buy an extra cable, the cable comes with the ipod. As piot says, read Apple.com before ranting.

The only valid complaint you have is that you'd have to carry this new cable around with you or buy a second one if you wanted to connect your ipod to your work computer or a friend's.

It would be nice if someone made a 4-inch cable of this type and the case had space to carry it.

[Gizzmonic]

I hate it when Apple comes up with useless proprietary crap. I bought my first Mac in '99, which has Firewire, USB, standard VGA, ATA/33...no gratitously proprietary garbage. Apple momentarily turned away from their habit of gouging Mac users in every way possible.

This proprietary FW cable is another slap in the face, along with ADC, .Mac, iTunes Music Store (why can't I even browse the f**king store in a web browser? Instead they shoehorn Safari into iTunes).

Many of you will say, "Why not, it's only another $20, if you spend $299 on an iPod you surely can spare $20!"

The question to me is WHY spend extra money. Apple should be providing something of value if they expect me to purchase it. Not another cable that doesn't do anything different from the firewire cable I already have.

[Bill M]

Isn't the new connector on the bottom a sort of a mixture of firewire and USB2 (the latter for PCs), besides making it much easier to fit/connect onto a (the new) cradle/base? I haven't seen it in person, but I think it is a much welcome upgrade to the old design. And, as a matter of fact, I just ordered the 15gb version for my wife's bday next month with an extra base, cable and a/c adaptor which will be installed on my HiFi audio system in the living room.

8)

[pyr3]

The point of the new connector type is so that you only have one port on the iPod and can use the same iPod over Firewire or USB2.0. Since most Windows people that are looking at an iPod might say no to it since they only have a USB port on their computer and don't want to buy a firewire PCI card just for their iPod. This makes absolute sense in my opinion. They don't want to clutter the iPod with a million different ports (ie have a firewire port AND a usb2.0 port on the iPod).

You're complaining because the iPod doesn't come customized specifically to suit the needs that you have for it. Why don't you call up Apple and ask them to custom make an iPod just for you needs? Stop griping over stupid crap like this. Woop-dee-frickin-doo! Now you need an extra cable. So what? Next you're going to complain that there isn't a 120gig version of the iPod because just today you discovered Driect Connect and now you want moviez on your iPod and Apple is crappy because they don't cater to your needs.

[dfiler]

Originally posted by pyr3
The point of the new connector type is so that you only have one port on the iPod and can use the same iPod over Firewire or USB2.0.
...
They don't want to clutter the iPod with a million different ports (ie have a firewire port AND a usb2.0 port on the iPod).A seldom used port is less clutter than having to carry around a custom cord.

Infact, I'll be so bold as to say that an extra port is zero clutter. :)

There is zero chance of a coworker or friend having one of these custom iPod cords since none of them own iPods. That means, I'll need to anticipate file sharing and remember to bring the specialized cord with me on these occaisions. [Edit: i don't actually own an iPod, just a bus powered firewire HD]

I suspect that the port was designed to accomodate rough dock insertion and removal. I'll agree that the new design has merits... that its a tradeoff. But you should at least acknoledge the incovenience it presents for using an iPod as a portable hard drive.

[Jonathan]

arnold says stop whining.